The Clash of the Chinas

The Clash of the Chinas was an alternate history work that began on 16 August 2017. The Clash told the story of a third world war, fought between the "Tri-Axis" of China, Pakistan, and North Korea, and a coalition of Allied states led by the United States, Taiwan, and South Korea. The war was sparked by the communist Chinese government's attempt to reconquer Taiwan, leading to a war between the Pacific powers.

Prelude
In the two years following the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc, the countries of the world toiled to forge a "New World Order"; the end of the bipolar world and the fall of communism led to several countries forging strategic alliances and fighting to become the new dominant power in the world.

US politics
In the United States, Bill Clinton and his New Democrats won the presidential election by a landslide due to his alliance with several other liberal parties. However, the elections saw violence occur between supporters of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, and there were several anti-government undertones to the election, undermining support for the ruling Republicans. The election also saw several voters turn towards socialism and more leftist policies than in previous elections, and the USA showed signs of shifting to the left. Under President Clinton, new reforms such as the affirmative action and universal voting reforms were passed, encouraging immigration and bettering the lives of millions of Americans, and he began to solve the US' debt problems by decreasing rampant military spending and increasing education and social spending. America began to undergo an economic recovery that would end years of massive debt increases seen under the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, while also establishing new economic alliances. The USA agreed to the "ANZUS" treaty with Australia and New Zealand, forging military ties between the three Pacific nations; America also entered NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, adopted the Bretton Woods system, and continued its space program. America grew strong internally, but its lack of military strength would allow for the rise of other powers.

Sino-Indian conflict
In 1992, war broke out between China and India over Tibet, which India sought to annex. China allied with Pakistan and North Korea during the conflict, while India allied with Bangladesh. The conflict was brief, and the Indians failed in their attempts to conquer Chinese Tibet. The short war soured relations between the two Asian powers, but it also showcased the might of the China-Pakistan-North Korea alliance, which represented a rising, resurrected Eastern Bloc, the "Tri-Axis". China's military grew in size, even as India and Pakistan demobilized their reserves, making mainland China a military power.

Cross-Straits tensions
Meanwhile, the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan was still at odds with the communist regime, hoping to maintain its independence from the late Mao Zedong's regime. The government of mainland China, led by Jiang Zemin, grew confident that it could conquer Taiwan quickly, while also avoiding attracting any attention from other nations. The Chinese did not believe that America would be willing to support Taiwan in the war while President Clinton focused on his economic recovery, and as the US military's funding remained low. The Tri-Axis decided to launch an assault on Taiwan to assist in the reunification of China, the first step in breaking the United States' control over the Pacific.

War breaks out
On 6 April 1994, the Tri-Axis declared war on Taiwan, which proceeded to call on the United States for military assistance. President Clinton considered two choices: he could either stay out of the conflict and continue to focus on rebuilding a strong American society, or he could remain loyal to America's ally of Taiwan, defend democracy in the Pacific from the new Tri-Axis threat, and prevent the Tri-Axis from acquiring more territory. Clinton opted to defend the United States' old ally, and he managed to secure the participation of several other US allies in the conflict, including the regional allies of South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Portugal.

Allied preparations for war
The US government immediately ordered the mobilization of the armed forces, and it ordered for shipyards across the country to get to work on building transport ships, aircraft carriers, frigates, and destroyers for an assault on Asia. Regiments of troops began training across the country, with many of them being assembled within days. Meanwhile, the other Allied countries built up their own armies; Italy, France, South Korea, Portugal, Japan, and other allies would only later order full mobilization in response to US pressure. By 26 April, the Allied armies had assembled 4,887,000 troops for the war. By 17 June, the US Navy's Pacific fleet had risen to include 203 ships, and Admiral Edward B. Franklin waited for a large invasion force to arrive so that he could ferry them into Asia to fight against the Tri-Axis.

Tri-Axis offensive
The Tri-Axis was also busy preparing for the conflict. The Tri-Axis assembled 2,097,000 troops, and they immediately prepared for war with the US alliance. The South Koreans began the land campaign of the war with an offensive into North Korea, where their 282,000+ troops (led by Bak Ch'ok, Jo Si, and Hong Hu) made good progress during their invasion of the country. The North Korean army of 30,000 troops under Kwon Hyong withdrew to the border town of Chonchon as a Chinese army of 123,000+ troops under Zhu Tian entered the country, counterattacking against the South Koreans and destroying one of their armies at the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in early June.

At the same time, 3 Pakistani navy warships arrived off the coast of Taiwan, preparing to assist the Chinese government with an invasion of the island country. The Chinese first set about temporarily knocking Portugal out of the war, sending 2 aircraft squadrons to occupy the Portuguese colony of Macao on the coast of southern China. On 3 June, a Chinese fleet defeated a South Korean fleet in the South Korean Sea, forcing the 2 surviving South Korean ships to withdraw to the Japanese port of Nagasaki in Kyushu.